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Happy Monday! Can you believe that it is already the end of February? I seriously don’t know where this month went, but I think it might have something to do with how many hours I spent in the office. I hate how much the blog suffers when things ramp up at my day job, but we’re all human and I enjoy sleeping, so it is what it is.

February went at lighting speed for me and got me thinking just how fast the last four years have been at my current job. For those of you don’t know, I work at an advertising agency called 360i in Manhattan as a social strategist. For the last two years, most of my days are specifically dedicated to the Bravo account. Contrary to popular believe, I don’t spend most of my days watching The Real Housewives. 😜

In my opinion, four years isn’t that long, but in the advertising industry it may as well be a lifetime. Most people spend about two years at an agency before bouncing around. That said, over the last four years I’ve watched many come and go, but I continue to love, love, love my job. However, one of my biggest challenges is staying out of the comfort zone. While working with the same people and on the same business (or at the same company) can be beneficial to your career growth, it can also challenge your ability to steer clear of the ‘comfort zone,’

Each person’s ‘comfort zone’ is different. Some may feel like they can get away with anything (read: arriving at the office in the 10-11 AM range 😕) others may feel like they aren’t learning anything anymore and others may feel like they aren’t getting noticed anymore despite their flawless and intelligent work. Below are a few tips that I’ve helpful in conquering my personal comfort zone over the last few years.

1| Challenge yourself & others: This one is kinda the ‘duh’ one, but is the easiest to forget. Sometimes we expect our managers to be the only ones who should or can challenge your skills, but really a challenge can come from anyone or anywhere, even yourself! If you’ve been working at the same company or with the same clients for a while, one easy way to do this is to start rethinking your everyday routine. Are your processes the most efficient they can be? How can you break the barriers that keep you from success? Perhaps one of my favorite ways to challenge myself is by challenging the other members of my team, ask why they do something the way they do it. You could uncover something that inspires yourself and better work overall.

2| Go out of your way to connect with different teammates: Half of why I’ve stayed at my current job for as long as I have is because of my amazing team. I truly believe that the people you work with can make or break your experience. So if you are constantly refreshing the pool of amazing people you are interacting with, your experience has the opportunity to flourish. Something that I’ve been doing lately, is just asking people throughout the company to grab coffee every so often. Whether they work in a different department on a different client or have a different role on the team, I always find you can learn something from someone else’s successes or struggles.

3| Say yes to new opportunities, big & small: This is probably one of the hardest tips to really commit to, but the single most effective way to get out of your work comfort zone. We all have full workloads already, otherwise we wouldn’t have our jobs, so it is hard to say yes to more work. Especially if it is out of your wheelhouse. However, you need to say yes. Putting in extra hours or challenging your time management skills might be exactly what you need to fall back in love with what you do, learn new skills, and work with new people.

4| Tell your manager: Now this tip might not fly in every workplace, but I can almost guarantee that your boss doesn’t not want you to feel comfortable. He or she want you to feel inspired, constantly challenged and engaged. Of course, this should be approached carefully, but respectfully telling your manager that you feel as if you’ve mastered your current workload and you are seeking new opportunities to learn can result is some major rewards. For all you know, your boss is working on the project of your dreams and he/she would LOVE your help on it.

5|  Take a vacation: Arguably my favorite tip of them all! 😉  No matter how burnt out, tired or uninspired I feel, when I come back from a vacation I always feel more passionate for what I do every day. This doesn’t have to be some elaborate two week euro trip. This can be a long weekend spent at your parent’s house or a road trip back to your college town. Change your scenery and unplug, it will do wonders for the quality of your work.

Okay, now I’m no professional. I’ve only been in the workforce for about four years, but I can promise you that at least one of the above tips will work for you. The one and only ‘don’t’ I have to share with you is don’t give up. There have been times where I’ve felt too comfortable, but overcoming these comfort zones have always accelerated my career growth and exposed me to a new reason to love my job.

How are you conquering your personal comfort zone at work?! Would love to read your tips in the comments!